Two Much

After winning a Best Foreign Film Oscar for "Belle Epoque", Fernando Trueba's follow up was this comedy starring Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith. It was not the first time that Trueba had directed a picture in English with English-speaking actors ("El sueño del mono loco" starring Miranda Richardson and Jeff Goldblum was a critical success) but "Two much" seems to have gone out of his hands.

It might have looked good in the script, a comedy that captures the essence of the comedies from the 50's, but the eventual result is quite disappointing. The three leading actors (Banderas, Griffith and Daryl Hannah) have been much better almost elsewhere, and some of the jokes and gags are kind of cheesy. However, a superb supporting cast helps to save the show. Joan Cusack is a delight to watch in a role Thelma Ritter would have done a few decades before. Danny Aiello does as much as he can with his clichéd character, and Elli Wallach is also excellent, but his role is little more than a glorified cameo.

If you like Dean Martin comedies you might appreciate the effort of resurrecting these kind of comedies, but don't expect the result to be anywhere near those classics. If you are looking for a few laughs and an acceptably amusing comedy, then you might not be disappointed.

A bit of fluff with lots of laughs and screwball comedy with Banderas trying to have not only his cake and eat it two, but two cakes! Some very funny bits as he tries to keep his "twin" from being exposed -hence "Two Much."

In my opinion, Joan Cusack stole the show with her broad comedic talents. She plays along with the charade, using wry humor when she finds herself in the middle of a difficult situation, and gently scolding Banderas for his questionable behavior. She was simply wonderful!

Art Dodger is a BS peddler(get the pun to his name? Eh? Eh? It sets the tone for how "clever" this is), and as we find that the quality of it is rather lacking(no one could buy his stories, and few do), leading us to wonder how he gets by from it. He uses the obituaries to locate widows, and claims to be delivering paintings(provided by his...friend? Manny, who is... not skilled enough to be selling them without this trick... apparently? Even though it is at one point remarked that they're good, and this is said by an expert on the subject... don't ask) that their now deceased husband bought, so he can get the cash. Why the cons? Well, other than ensuring that he, like nearly everyone else in this, is powerfully unlikeable(it has to be intentional, no one is this inept), it's the only way he can think of to make ends meet for his gallery(I guess all the want ads panned out, and in spite of being a talented virtuoso himself, he hasn't touched a brush for a while because... because. Well, like everything in this, the lazily done and derivative script needed that to be the case). One day, he meets and starts having sex with Betty, who turns out to be an emotional wreck who wants to get married within that same 24 hours. This is evidently something she does all the time, although she only has one ex, who she got hitched with twice. No, none of this does make any sense or hold up to a single second's scrutiny. You're very perceptive. Said former beau(a man with anger issues who is literally following her around whenever he can) is after our lead, and we want him to catch him. So, our "hero" falls for his fiancés sister, Liz, with whom he is clearly better matched. She won't give him the time of day, on account of... hey, look over there! So he makes up a twin brother so he can woo her. Crazy hijinks ensue, with surprisingly little laughter to be had. Phew, done. Wow, all of that was just the basic setup for the plot. Convoluted much? I will admit that I am not a big fan of screwball comedy, but this is packed with uninspired jokes, with only occasionally one that might have you smiling, or chuckle briefly. I understand that part of this was on account of the director not speaking the language properly, and that does explain a lot(no one actually talks like these people do... and the dialog, even when realistic, is seldom funny). The characters behave in bizarre ways. Development, and the eventual "resolution"(it kind of just... stops) is forced and feels out of place. The main cast are wrong for their parts. This is in serious need of cutting down, as it is at least half an hour longer than it has any right to be. It isn't downright boring, and it could be a greater torment to watch than it is. On the plus side, Griffith and, more to the point, Hannah, spend a fair amount of time in swimsuits and the like. There are a couple of hints of sexuality and brief obscured nudity in this. I recommend this to people with low standards for this subgenre. 5/10

Donald Westlake deserves much better than this adaptation that Fernando Trueba and his brother David did to the book. Mr. Westlake, together with Elmore Leonard, are two of the best writers of the genre. It appears that either the adapters lost something in translation, or maybe the studio didn't let the Truebas get what they wanted to do.

The casting of Antonio Banderas in the dual role of Art/Bart presents problems because he is a quintessential Latin man, who is supposed to be a small con artist working in Florida; his accent doesn't solve this problem either. We don't believe for a moment he is this "artful dodger", let alone Art Dodge. Mr. Banderas has done better, but not here. The best sequence in the film involves Art/Bart shuttling between Liz and Betty's separate rooms, where the actor gets all the laughs.

Daryl Hannah, who plays Liz, fares better, although it's hard to imagine this brainy woman could fall for this small time con artist. Melanie Griffith doesn't have much to do, and we can be thankful for a performance where all her mannerisms are not shown. The best thing in the film is Joan Cusack, who is seen as Gloria, the art gallery assistant who steals the show from the principals. There is also a delightfully funny appearance by the late Vincent Schiavelli, who is seen as a finicky sommelier at a tony restaurant. (We kept thinking how could Art/Bart pick up the check on the two occasions when he takes Betty, first, and then Liz, to that expensive place, as he can't even pay his other bills...) In some minor roles we see Eli Wallach, Danny Aiello, and Austin Pendleton, among others.

The best thing in the film is the musical sound track by the talented Michel Camilo, who had already collaborated with Mr. Trueba in "Calle 54". He is seen at the end of the picture playing with some Latin jazz giants like Paquito D'Rivera and Cachao. One kept hoping they would have been seen more in the film.

Art Dodge runs Art's Gallery, but he's not doing too well. He looks for obituaries of rich people and shows up at the home of the deceased claiming he sold the person a painting. One day Art gets caught and has to hide in Betty's expensive car. He and Betty hit it off, but then Art discovers Betty has a sister, Liz. Betty's ex Gene wants her back and when he comes after Art, Art is wearing glasses instead of contacts, and he gets an idea. He claims to be Art's brother Bart, and Gene is not all that bright so he believes it. Art comes up with a history for Bart and tries to make him into a man Liz would like.

Art is actually quite convincing as Bart, so his main problem is explaining why the two are never together. Faking a phone call is not that big a problem. There is a hilarious scene where both men stay over with their respective girlfriends, who live in the same large house.

There is not as much zany comedy as I would have expected. At times the film seems to be more of a drama, more 'chick-flick'. Antonio Banderas seems to give a better performance in these scenes than where he is supposed to be funny; I never thought the man was a comic actor. Banderas seems natural for Bart, but not Art.

Joan Cusack gives the best acting performance, in my opinion, as Art's sarcastic secretary. Daryl Hannah and Melanie Griffith also do well. I was expecting more from Eli Wallach as Art's forgetful father Sheldon--he starts out giving an Oscar-caliber performance, for about two lines. Then he's just ordinary. Though it is funny when he actually starts believing he has two sons.

One more highlight from the movie: a car chase involving Gene's goons and Sheldon's poker buddies. I don't know exactly what that was about.

Despite its flaws, this movie had a lot to offer for me.